Cheng Dong couldn't help being stunned when he heard this, and quickly asked: "What's going on? Please explain it carefully."
The chamberlain swallowed his saliva and took two breaths before speaking: "General Cheng Nan's people arrived at Chengtianmen first and surrounded the troubled ministers as soon as they came up. Upon seeing this, several officials from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Punishment had a quarrel with the Imperial Guards on the spot. , saying that in more than 800 years since the founding of the Holy Tang Dynasty, there has never been such a humiliation of officials, and General Cheng Nan must give an explanation."
"General Cheng Nan couldn't help but get furious after being insulted by their words. He immediately ordered his subordinates to carry out the order, arrested a dozen officials who were the first to make the noise, and sentenced them to the imperial rod in front of everyone. Unexpectedly, he would not retaliate if he did not fight. Well, as soon as the beating went on, two or three old guys couldn't bear the pain, rolled their eyes, screamed and fainted, fearing that their lives were in danger. The ministers who were watching also immediately got angry and began to push and fight with the Forbidden Army. Many people were beaten to death."
Cheng Dong frowned when he heard this: "Why is the third brother so reckless? How will this chaos end?"
"I think it's quite good." Cheng Wen sneered: "Only our own family can faithfully carry out the orders of the imperial staff. If it were anyone else, I'm afraid they would have violated it long ago. Chamberlain, go tell Cheng Nan, go ahead and do it, I will support him from behind!"
Cheng Dong quickly called out to the chamberlain: "Wait a minute! Madam, blindly suppressing them with force is not the answer. In the end, you have to use both soft and hard tactics. Think about it, you have offended all the civil and military officials, and arrested or killed them all. , how can the entire Holy Tang court still run? We can control the military power, but someone has to do the work of governing the world. "
Cheng Wen looked at him: "What do you mean..."
"It's better to let me go." Cheng Dong said helplessly: "Now that I have been beaten, the court officials also know how powerful it is. It's time to be gentle and appease me, to ease things down."
Cheng Wen sneered: "No, it's too early now. The other party's arrogance has not been knocked down. Once the situation turns around, the situation will only get worse. Brother, you'd better not get involved in this matter, just let Cheng Nan, Cheng Bei and the others take the lead. Dispose of it. The imperial court of Shengtang is not only supported by these two hundred people. Without them, I would still be able to run the country!"
Queen Cheng Wen's attitude made the already complicated and chaotic Chengtian Sect become even more clouded.
Cheng Nan, the third eldest son of the Cheng family, received the support of the inner court and had no scruples in taking action. He directly ordered all the officials at the scene to be arrested and lined up to be punished. By the time his brother Cheng Bei arrived with his troops, there was already a sound of pain and wailing outside Chengtian Gate.
Cheng Bei was shocked when he saw this, and quickly stopped the Forbidden Army soldiers and told them not to continue the torture. At the same time, he advised Cheng Nan to stop quickly to avoid causing serious trouble.
Cheng Nan curled his lips disdainfully and said, "I am acting according to orders, what harm can happen to me?"
Cheng Bei looked at the civil and military officials with messy robes, lying on the ground, their buttocks and legs beaten to bloody pulp, and asked with a stern expression: "Third brother, whose order are you following?"
"Do you even need to ask?" Cheng Nan responded, "Of course it's the Queen's decree."
"Third brother, you are confused!" Cheng Bei said in a deep voice: "My sister is messing around. We, brothers, should try our best to dissuade her. How can we follow her wishes and act arbitrarily in the imperial capital? All the officials and staff are here. , the world is shocked, even the emperor himself would not issue such an order easily, as a harem, where does he have the authority to act like this?"
Hearing this, Cheng Nan immediately glared: "Fourth brother, be careful what you say! What does it mean to act arbitrarily? Does anyone say this about the Queen? Look at these bastard ministers with no good intentions in front of you, surrounding Cheng. Tianmen slanders the emperor and the empress, shouldn’t they be punished? I would say, the beating is too light!”
Cheng Bei rolled his eyes at him angrily: "Okay, I'll beat you even if I'm beaten, just keep your mouth open. Most of those people are civil servants with fragile bodies. Don't mess around, it will be harder to deal with in the end." "
"I've already tortured two of them to death, what are you afraid of?" Cheng Nan sneered.
"What?!" Cheng Bei couldn't help being surprised: "Who died?"
Cheng Nan shook his head casually: "One is from the Imperial College and the other is from Honglu Temple. I don't remember their names. There are seven or eight people lying there, and they are only half breathing."
Cheng Bei was so angry that he stamped his feet and quickly ordered his men to rescue the wounded, saying that no more lives could be lost. Cheng Nan grabbed him and asked, "Where are you going?"
"Enter the palace! See my sister!" Cheng Bei said anxiously: "She is trying to seclude herself from the world. I must dissuade her."
Cheng Nan pulled him aside without any explanation and shouted: "Stop talking nonsense! Cheng Bei, don't you understand now? Our Cheng family has come to this point, and there is no turning back! I might as well tell you, eldest brother Now he is in the palace, with his sister, and he has not shown up yet, nor has he tried to dissuade her. What does that mean? It means that the eldest brother has accepted the queen's decision!"
Cheng Bei was stunned for a moment and looked at the other party in astonishment: "Eldest brother also agrees? How is this possible?"
"How is it impossible?" Cheng Nan said viciously: "Since the second brother died in the hands of Li Jiangyao, the Cheng family has only two choices left. Either, become a piece of fish on someone else's chopping board and be slaughtered; or, A vigorous counterattack to avenge the second brother and earn back this breath for the Cheng family! Now that the emperor's dragon body is weak, it is a good time for my sister to take power. We brothers must be of one mind and advance with her in order to remain invincible. !”
Cheng Bei finally understood what the other party meant and said in surprise: "This... doesn't this mean rebellion?"
Cheng Nan turned around and looked around, then said in a deep voice: "What rebellion? My sister represents the emperor, the imperial power and the court of Shengtang. These Li Jiangyao's gang members in front of me are the rebels! You must not be a woman You are so benevolent that you regret it in the end!"
Cheng Bei lowered his head and said nothing. After being silent for a long time, he raised his head and said, "No matter what step we take, I will definitely support my sister and be loyal to the family. However, we can no longer torture those ministers right now. Third brother, we have military power." With their hands, they can't change the world at all, so there's no need to kill them, what do you think?"
Cheng Nan glanced at him coldly: "You mean, just forget it?"
"They must be spared and spared," Cheng Bei pleaded on behalf of the officials: "Beat them, give them a warning, and then drive them away. From now on, my sister will be in charge of the overall situation, and these people will still be needed in many places."
Cheng Nan thought for a moment and nodded slightly: "Okay, no one of these guys can stand anyway, and it will be boring to continue fighting. I will give you this face today. Go and let your people Drive them away!"
Seeing that he finally relented, Cheng Bei quickly agreed and ordered his men to let the soldiers help all the injured officials return home to heal their injuries. The bodies of the two ministers from the Imperial College and Honglu Temple who were killed on the spot were temporarily transported to the Forbidden Army camp for parking, waiting for the next instructions from the inner court.
Although the turmoil outside the Chengtian Gate of the imperial capital ended with Queen Cheng Wen's violent suppression, a more violent political backlash followed.
Overnight, the news that more than two hundred court officials were humiliated and beaten quickly spread throughout the capital and beyond. The royal family, ministers, scholars, and ordinary people were all shocked by this extreme method.
Even though everyone was half-believed in the rumors that "the emperor was under house arrest and the queen took power without authorization", but now, no one hesitates at all: This is definitely not Li Bing's style of behavior, and the emperor who has endured many hardships cannot be so reckless and reckless. Quite unreasonable.
When the Seventh Princess's wedding was raided by masters of poisonous soldiers, so many ministers died, Li Bing only closed the city under martial law overnight, but he did not dare to let the imperial army invade the officials and arrest and beat people at will.
This time people were finally convinced: the queen usurped the throne and rebelled!
All kinds of discussions were rampant again, and even worse, people had already started planning to ask King Qin to save him. For a time, there were undercurrents and turmoil in the Imperial City, and the situation became extremely tense.
However, at this time, a special order was suddenly issued, bypassing the Zhongshu Province, the Menxia Province, the Shangshu Province, the Ministry of War, and the Governor's Office: Cheng Dong, the Duke of Zhenguo, was promoted four levels in a row and became the commander-in-chief of the Forbidden Army; General Cheng Nan of Yulin Zhonglang went to Luoyi to take over the White Tiger Army; Captain Yunhui and Qianniu prepared for Cheng Bei and went to Yanzhou to reorganize local forces and form a new Long Sword Army.
The Cheng family, the Cheng family of Cheng Qianli, the founder of the Holy Tang Dynasty, and the Cheng family of the current queen, Cheng Wen, are about to control nearly 400,000 troops of the dynasty in the blink of an eye. Their intentions to usurp the throne and their rebellion are clearly exposed!
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"Mr. Ouyang, I have kept you waiting for a long time. My Majesty is calling you in now."
"Thank you, father-in-law."
Ouyang Lin adjusted his wingless futou and his official uniform, and then followed the chamberlain into Fengyi Palace.
Cheng Wen sat high in the middle, and when Ouyang Lin finished bowing according to the rules, he smiled sweetly and said with emotion: "Master Ouyang has been working hard on the investigation recently. I heard that you made a special trip to Xin Zhongshu's hometown for this purpose. Why? Like? What’s the gain?”
Ouyang Lin cupped his hands and responded: "Reporting to the Queen, after investigation, I have a general grasp of your majesty's poisoning case. However, some of the core evidence needs to be further verified, so it is not possible to say that there is any real evidence at the moment. reward."
Cheng Wen glanced at him meaningfully and asked casually: "So, it's not too far away from the truth coming to light, right?"
Ouyang Lin smiled confidently: "You can say that."
Cheng Wen is not like her brother Cheng Dong who is worried that Ouyang Lin will find out the truth about Li Bing's poisoning. For her, the core of the meaning of power does not lie in legitimacy, but in absolute control.
As long as political power and military power are concentrated in one hand, how big a splash can little Ouyang Lin make?
Thinking of this, Cheng Wen smiled lightly and said: "You can go investigate the case. I have good news waiting for you. Sir Ouyang, rumors have been spreading around the imperial capital recently. I would like to ask you what you think about this?"
